A look at how we can use the power of music for good with our children
It’s dark and I’ve just been shaking my booty to Beyoncé, arms waving in the air, hips shaking… no inhibitions. I haven’t laughed this much in so long my tummy muscles are aching and my cheeks are stuck in position… I can’t help but smile.
Nope. I’m not drunk in a club, at a wedding or on a hen do.
I’m at a Blok Party workout, in the middle of the day, at the Balance Festival, London. I’m here to check out the latest wellness trends in fitness, food and feelings. I’ve tasted amazingly yummy healthy food, sat in workshops about food trends and met founders of start up athleisure brands producing sustainable clothing. It’s been an amazing, inspiring day.
All of my senses have been well and truly stimulated but one stood out as affecting my mood so dramatically throughout the day - Sound.
One minute I’m doing my best grind to the floor to Flo Rider grinning from ear to ear and getting the heart rate up, then I’m pumping weights and getting my sweat on to Shimmy Shimmy Ya, switch to me lying on a mat in the meditation dome listening to a sound bath, totally calm and at peace.
A 2013 study in the journal of Positive Pyschology found that people who listened to upbeat music could improve their moods and boost their happiness in just two weeks.
There’s no doubt about it, music has the power to positively affect our moods. I can quite easily control my emotions by the music I choose to play; a bit of Rudimental for my morning jog, some Ibiza house tunes when I do a bit of yoga, maybe some Einaudi in the background whilst I’m reading, or listening to the calming voice of Cerys Matthews for some inspiration whilst I have my coffee on a Sunday morning. This seems to be turning into my desert island discs list 😉 oops!
So if we have our own life albums, how can we use music to help our childrens moods too? I think there are two keys ways we can use music to benefit our children:
Let them make music
Let them loose on your old recorder, the untuned guitar lying around (that you one day promise to learn too), or simply make up a homemade ‘rice’ shaker….
There are so many benefits to making music; builds motor skills, helps with self confidence, encourages the loss of inhibitions, promotes teamwork, builds empathy, fosters maths and science abilities … the list goes on.
In research of kids aged 6 to 18, those who played an instrument had a thicker brain cortex in regions that regulate emotions, anxiety levels, and the capacity to pay attention
So let’s encourage the next generation to be creators so that they benefit from the power of music from a young age and take these skills with them into adulthood!
Let them consume music
Let the kids loose on your old Rick Astley record (just me?), your mix tapes and CD collection and encourage them to make their own choices about the music they love. As we know that music has a unique link to our emotions, we can also find ways to encourage our kids to listen to certain music throughout the day; to energise, motivate, calm, soothe and inspire…
Maybe it’s some calm music before bedtime? Or some fun music to sing along to when things start to get tense. In fact, research shows that singing (or shouting) along can be a great release of tension - I’m pretty sure me singing along to music in the car curbs my potential road rage 😉
The benefits of music are undeniable and I’m pretty sure I can use music more to help with my kids moods throughout the day. Good luck and Enjoy!
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